St. George supporters file suit over signatures

BATON ROUGE - Supporters of the movement to create a new city in East Baton Rouge Parish said they filed suit to try and keep alive their petition to bring the matter to a vote.

St. George organizers said they've identified a "significant" number of signatures on their petition which they believe the Registrar of Voters should not have rejected. The registrar's office said earlier this month the petition was short by 71 signatures and would not go on the ballot.

St. George supporters said they filed a petition with the 19th Judicial District Court Friday asking them to force the registrar to include these signatures. The group said they first asked the registrar about the rejections, and were told the office has "completed their work."

"We will not stop until every valid signature is counted, ensuring the voice of the people is heard," the group said on their Facebook page.

The group has been pushing to incorporate the southern and southeastern portion of the parish into a new city called St. George. The movement rose out of a failed attempt to create a breakaway school district in the Shenandoah area of East Baton Rouge. Since then several large properties and businesses in the proposed incorporation area have been annexed into the city of Baton Rouge, a move St. George supporters criticized as trying to scuttle their progress.